4 ms·
The conjectures where the condition is very simple (Collatz, Goldbach, Fermat) but the proof is very elusive are not as common as you think.
by spoonjim 5y ago
The conjectures where the condition is very simple (Collatz, Goldbach, Fermat) but the proof is very elusive are not as common as you think.
- soheil 5y agoI guess even if they're not common, clearly the person who first came up with 3x+1 didn't know it was going to be so hard to solve. So it was a random simple problem to formulate that ended up being very difficult to solve.
- spoonjim 5y agoThe entire mathematical world realized how interesting the Collatz conjecture was as soon as it was put forward. And it took until 1937 when Euclid figured out most of geometry 2000 years ago.
- smegger001 5y agoEuclid figured out most of geometry 2000 years ago... *for flat planes. there was this thing about parallel lines he got wrong
- jones1618 5y agoFYI: Many variations of Collatz (Mx+N where M and N are different numbers, imaginary numbers, etc.) have been explored. If I remember right many behave trivially/uninterestingly or are equivalent to Collatz only not as simple. So, Collatz is uniquely simple yet complex.